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Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt The Stable Civilization 3100 BCE – 30 BCE The “SOUL” of Ancient Egypt • The Nile was the source of life and path to immortality • Egyptians lived on Eastern side but buried on Western side – River was symbol of passage of one life to next • Creation story began in swirling waters of the Nile when god Horus gave power to Pharaohs Click here for Creation Story Geography: Populated Areas There were three main areas that were populated in Egypt: 1. The Nile Valley • Sole source of water for Egypt • Predictable flooding provided rich fertile soil • Revered and feared 2. • • • The Nile Delta Nile empties into Mediterranean Largest piece of fertile land All the major cities of Egypt 3. • Faiyum Lake Moeris lies at end of branch of Nile is centre of oasis called Faiyum Irrigation from Nile made Faiyum the third most populated land • Geographic Effects on Egypt’s Stability • Regular flooding of Nile = predictability • Deserts – provided protection and isolation – source of minerals and building supplies: copper, tin, gold and natron • Access to Mediterranean increased and expanded trade • Philosophy of stability, rejection of change Historical Highlights Unification of Egypt • King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt and wears double crown in 3100 BCE. • Beginning of the united and stable civilization • After Menes -31 dynasties over 3000 years Personifications of Upper and Lower Egypt place their crowns upon Menes head Age of Pyramids Old Kingdom 2690 BCE – 2181 BCE • Embodiment of Pharaoh's god like absolute power • Medium of immortality. Mastaba – used since before Menes Step Pyramid at Saqqara for Djoser 2650 BCE Great Pyramids of Giza for Khufu 2600 BCE Imhotep • First non-ruler whose life is recorded • Served Pharaoh Djoser (2686-2613 BCE) • Designed step pyramid • Furnished and sculpted stone images for tomb • Founded Egyptian medicine Statuette in bronze of Imhotep at Louvre, from Ptolemaic era (332-30 BCE) National God Amon Re • Popular as Amon or Amun in many areas throughout entire history of Egypt • Associated with bull, goose, ram and protector of the weak • Amon, the local god of Thebes merged with sun god Re and became Egyptian national god Amon-Re Figure of Amon Re from late period - ROM collection Exodus Colossal statue of Ramses II from temple of Ptah - Spain • Hebrew slaves under Ramses II leave Egypt in mass migration called Exodus (13th c. BCE) • Moses receives the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai but never finds the “Promised Land” Was Egypt Really a Stable Civilization? • Your tasks: – Research a particular topic to discover if ancient Egypt really was a stable civilization – Write a thesis statement which answers the research question • Simple thesis statements: – Yes, Egypt was stable OR No, Egypt was not stable. • More complex thesis statements: – Egypt was stable for the most part except for… – Egypt’s was mostly unstable, but we believe it to be stable only because of … – Provide evidence via a class presentation to prove your thesis • Pod Organization – Write an in class paper at the end of all presentations explaining your final point of view.